


We'll Always Have Paris

by KielWhitehead24



Category: NCIS
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-05-04 02:11:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14582646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KielWhitehead24/pseuds/KielWhitehead24
Summary: Tony and Tali return to Paris at the behest of Senior, or do they?





	1. Demon Days

**Author's Note:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Demon Days by Robert Foster (Album Title The Evangelist)

Tony sighed as he stepped off the plane, holding Tali’s hand until they got to her stroller. Senior had invited them to spend the holidays with him in Paris, not knowing how painful Tony had come to find the city he once loved. He had spent the entire flight fighting back the memories of his first trip to Paris with Ziva. In contrast to him, Tali was wide eyed and bushy tailed, as she had slept almost the entire flight, only waking as they were taxiing down the runway. Senior had promised to meet them at the airport, and drive them to his flat that he maintained on the west side of the city. Before going any further, he checked as he always did to make sure Tali was still wearing Ziva’s Star of David necklace. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing it. It was one of the few remaining things that had belonged to Ziva that he had. Orli had offered for him to look over anything that survived the mortar attack, but outside of a few toys for Tali, he couldn’t bear the reminder of Ziva’s death. He put Tali in her stroller and proceeded to head to the baggage claim, eager to exit the masses clogging the airport. He had just grabbed the suitcases when Tali started shouting.

“Ima! Ima!”

Tony spun around and saw Tali pointing towards the crowd of people waiting just beyond the security checkpoint for their loved ones. He jerked his head in that direction in what he could only describe as desperation, but there was no one there resembling his Ziva. He noticed a middle aged couple smiling at Tali, clearly thinking she was being reunited with her mother. Tony shook his head to disperse the well of tears from rising once more. He mussed Tali’s hair.

“No Tali, Ima’s not here. You must have just imagined it. Let’s find sabba.” He pushed her past the checkpoint, noticing how she seemed to not believe him, as she was looking all about while still quietly saying “Ima”. Tony sighed once more. He’d have to tell Senior that from now on, they could meet in New York or Washington. He never wanted to step foot in Paris again. He was about to pull out his cell phone and call his father when he heard a deep voice behind him.

“What Junior, so eager to see me that you walk right past your old man?”

Tony turned to see his father in his usual suit with his arms held out for a hug.

“Dad, didn’t see you.” He said, returning the embrace. “It was a long flight. Next time we do this in D.C.”

Senior looked puzzled. “I thought you wanted to be here? I was already in Chicago; it would’ve been easier to meet there.”

“Dad, _you_ emailed me, remember? Said you wanted our first Christmas with Tali to be in Paris?”

Senior had taken Tali out of the stroller and was greeting her when he stopped and looked at Tony.

“Son, I can show you the emails when we get to the flat, you wanted to meet here.”

Tony was quite perplexed. He swore it had been his dad that wanted to meet here, but he also knew he was still dealing with the fallout of Ziva’s death. Senior held Tali while they continued to walk towards the pick-up area where Senior had parked. Senior was excited to be able to spoil Tali, as a way of making up for his lack of being a father to Tony when he was younger. She began to point back towards the baggage claim and started saying “Ima” again. Senior raised an eye at Tony, but Tony just sighed and shook his head.

“She thought she saw Zi back near the checkpoint, but it must’ve been some stranger that had a similar hairstyle. She shouldn’t be tired like this; she slept most of the flight.”

Senior nodded sadly. “I understand, son. Let’s get you guys home, and then we can figure out who got mixed up.”


	2. Just Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony receives a call from Israel, and reflects on both the past and the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Just Breathe by Don Brownrigg (Album TItle It Takes All Kinds)

Tony stood in the doorway to the “nursery” at the flat. Senior had had it decorated with a princess look, and Tali had squealed in excitement when she first saw it. The bed looked like a castle out of a fairy tale, and he smirked, thinking about how Eli would have reacted to his granddaughter being in something so garish. She seemed exhausted, having been convinced she saw Ziva in the airport. She was fussy through dinner, but had seemed to enjoy all the attention Senior gave her. Tony mostly watched, enjoying seeing his dad dote on his little girl.

He decided that once Christmas was done he would return to the US and show Tali the places important to him, before probably returning to Israel for a few years. Orli had assured him he would always be welcome there and that if he ever needed anything, to not hesitate to call her. She even gave him her secure private phone number.

Seeing the tiny movements signaling that Tali had fallen asleep, he softly closed the door until it was almost shut, and returned to the dining area where Senior had already set up the laptops so they could figure out who screwed up. Senior looked triumphantly at him.

“See, Junior, I told you that you said to meet here.” He swiveled the laptop towards Tony. Tony scanned through it, confirming that it was Tony who had said he wanted to have Christmas with Tali and his father in Paris. He still couldn’t figure it out, and was about to open his own email when his phone rang. His heart sank when he saw the name. It was Orli. He quickly opened the screen.

“Orli?”

“Hello Tony. I am sorry to have to call you so close to your first Christmas with Tali.”

“What is it? You wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important.”

“You are correct. I should have been more direct. If it is at all possible, would you be able to return to Tel Aviv? We have discovered something I think you should know. I feel like this is something that needs to be told in person, instead of over the phone. If possible, it would probably be best if Tali stayed with someone.”

Tony looked at Senior. “Give me a moment, Orli.”

He lowered the phone. “Dad, could you watch Tali for a day or two? The Mossad director wants to see me, but doesn’t think Tali should come.” He had a sinking feeling he knew why.

“Of course I can, Junior. We can go explore the gardens down the street. I’ll keep her close.” Tony nodded his thanks before bringing the phone back to his ear.

“Orli, I can be on the next flight to Tel Aviv.”

“Actually, Tony, I have already sent a jet to Paris. It should be there in 1 hour.”

Tony smirked, not surprised that the Mossad director had already made travel arrangements for him. He hung up and went to throw some clothes into his go bag.

Between the fact that she had already sent a plane and didn’t want Tali to come with him gave him a sick feeling in his gut that he knew what was waiting for him. They must have finally recovered Ziva’s bones from the charred remains of the farmhouse. The fire had completely destroyed the building, but Orli had assured him that Mossad was thoroughly sweeping the debris looking for any human remains so that he and Tali could give Ziva a proper burial.

He walked into Tali’s room, and gave her a small kiss on her forehead before calling a cab to take him to the airport. He walked to the elevator down to the entryway of the apartments to wait, but paused when he heard a familiar voice from the shadow by the door.

“They’ll be safe, Tony. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Tony turned towards the voice.

“Thank you Liat.” She stepped into the light. “How long have you been watching us?”

She gave a smile knowing she’d been caught. “Just since you arrived in Paris, Tony. Director Elbaz wanted to make sure that no one was following you. I haven’t spotted anyone yet, but I’ll be here while you’re gone. I have a letter from my director with a number for your father to call if I need them to follow me. The plane should be here by the time you get to the airport.”

Tony nodded his thanks and entered the elevator. He remembered a time when he would have flat out refused any assistance from Mossad, but that was mostly because of Tali’s late grandfather. He walked out of the building, and met his cab. Under 30 minutes later he was in the air on his way to Tel Aviv, most likely to bring Ziva’s bones home.


	3. Blinking Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finally sees the farmhouse, and makes an unpleasant discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Theme From Blinking Lights by Eels (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)

Tony stepped off the plane into the harsh sunlight of Tel Aviv. The last three times he had been here had been unpleasant, and he had a feeling the fourth time would be no different. Malachi Ben-Gidon was waiting for him in front of a small convoy of armored vehicles. Malachi shouted a greeting at Tony as he ushered him into the vehicle and the convoy sped off into the city, before making its way to the surrounding hills where the farmhouse had been.

“Welcome back to Israel, Tony. Director Elbaz is waiting for us at the farmhouse. She felt it would be best to brief you there. Once you are done, the plane will return you to Paris.”

Tony slowly nodded, feeling surer of what this visit would hold. They quickly arrived at the house, and Tony felt like someone had just slugged him in the gut. He hadn’t been able to visit the farmhouse during his last visit, refusing to step foot on the grounds where Ziva had died. The house was a charred wreck, and if he hadn’t known what it had once been, he wouldn’t have known it was a house. The fire had engulfed almost the entire house immediately. The only part that was undamaged was the corridor leading to what had been Tali’s room. Orli was waiting for them under a canopy with several men in fatigues. Malachi escorted him over before putting a comforting hand on Tony’s shoulder and walking away.

Orli looked at him with sad eyes before beginning.

“Welcome Tony. I know how hard it is for you to be here of all places, but I felt that it was the best place to give you answers.” She gestured for him to follow her and the men towards the house. “This is Fire Inspector Chief Freidman; he can walk us through the events of the fire.”

The man about Gibbs’ age nodded before pointing to what had been the living room. “The mortar round impacted here, and the fire quickly spread to the rest of the unit, except for the corridor still standing. From what we can tell, someone was able to get the survivor away from the house, but we don’t know who. Conventional wisdom says it was most likely her mother, but there is no reason for her to go back into the house after that.”

Orli interjected. “We arrived shortly after the fire was extinguished, and I tried to ask Tali how she escaped, but she just kept yelling for ‘Ima’. We searched the entire property, but could find no sign of Ziva. Tali’s go bag was with her, almost untouched by the fire, so we were able to get it and we were on a plane to Washington within 12 hours. But that’s not why I called you here. There was someone else in the house during the fire.”

They had arrived at the room right before Tali’s. There was a tape outline where a body had been.

The Inspector spoke up. “As soon as we discovered the body, our M.E. collected it and immediately began the autopsy. His initial report from here said he estimates them to have been around 6 foot 3.”

Tony’s head snapped up from where he had been looking at the tape outline.

“That’s not right. Zi was only 5’7.”

Orli nodded. “We discovered it wasn’t her during the autopsy. The bone structure was consistent with a male victim. We don’t know what happened, but from what evidence we could find, he was in the house before the fire. He appears to have tried to break into this file cabinet. It bore signs of having been tampered with. We believe he was after the files for Kort, but Kort decided not to take chances that he would copy them, so he just shelled the building.”

Tony was swirling in emotions. He wished he could bring Kort back just so he could kill him again. Orli nodded for the Inspector to go on, and waited until he walked away to continue.

“Tony, what is being kept secret is that the man was dead before the shell hit. The M.E. found a slit on the neck, consistent with the kind of knife Ziva always carried. It appears that he was caught by Ziva, and after a brief struggle, she managed to kill him.  We managed to get an identity. His name is Ensaf Antar, a known mercenary from Syria. He appears to have been a member of Kort’s network. There had been a call placed from this location to my private line, but it hung up before the second ring got off. I was informed of the fire almost immediately after. I believe Ziva tried to call me, but the mortar attack happened before she could get ahold of me. There was blood on the ground, that matched her, and it trailed to the living room. We believe she may have been in there when the shell hit, and that is why we still have been unable to find a body. I am so sorry, Tony. We have searched the entire property for remains, but have found none. I do not think you will have anything to bury.”

She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Tony just nodded numbly and thanked her for telling him. Malachi came up and nodded towards the convoy that was to return him to the airport. As he got in, he took one last look at the place where Ziva’s life had ended. He decided this would likely be the last time he would ever return to Israel, as it was too painful to be in Ziva’s homeland with nothing but memories of her. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he barely acknowledged Malachi as he escorted him to the private plane to return him to Israel. Malachi grabbed his shoulder and embraced him.

“ _HaMakom yenachem et'chem b'toch shar avay'lay Tzion vee'Yerushalayim_. It means ‘May the Omnipresent comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.’ I know we were never on the best of terms, Agent Dinozzo, but I do know how much Ziva cared about you; and her father as well. He may have acted like he didn’t, but he was proud of the way you rescued her from Somalia. I was with him when he discovered that you had successfully rescued her. He didn’t think you had it in you. He even said that you may actually be worthy of his daughter. That is why I’m giving you this.” He pressed a manila folder with Hebrew markings into Tony’s hand. Tony nodded, quite stunned by both the kind words of Malachi and the revelation about Eli.

He boarded the plane in a haze, and sank into the seat as the plane taxied into the air. He opened the folder and froze. It was the report of the farmhouse. He read the part about Antar’s death, before his thoughts turned to Ziva. She had just killed an intruder one room away from her little girl. Hurt, she tried to get help form Orli, but it was too late. Tony prayed that she had died instantly, instead of enduring a drawn out death. He praised the mysterious person that managed to pull Tali from her room.

He was looking at the pictures of her room, when he realized that there was blood on her carpet, barely noticeable. If he hadn’t investigated hundreds of crime scenes, he probably would have missed it. “ _Why would there be blood in her room? Ziva was in the living room, and never checked on Tali.”_ He froze. Ziva never would have failed to check on her baby girl after an intrusion. They never identified the person that pulled Tali from the inferno. Orli said when she tried to ask her who pulled her out; she just kept saying “Ima”. What if she wasn’t asking for Ziva, but was actually answering? Tali’s go bag was another mystery. Why would a random stranger have grabbed it as well? Tony remembered that it didn’t smell of smoke when he got it from the Israeli’s at NCIS. Her scarf just smelled like the perfume she had worn their last morning in Paris. _Paris!_ The photograph of them in Paris was in her go bag. Why would she have put it in there?

Tony started. He had to get back to Paris. He decided to put a call into the MI6 agent that had helped them track down Kort.

He quickly dialed the number in his phone, not even thinking about the time difference. Luckily the man answered.

“Reeves.”

“Clayton, its Tony Dinozzo.”

“Tony! I’m just about to go to the bullpen; I’ll let the others say hello!”

“No, wait! I just left Ziva’s farmhouse, and I was wondering if you’d do me a favor.”

“Sure thing, mate. What is it?”

“I need you to scan for any spike in diamond sales in Europe over the past seven months.”

“I’ll have Abby check it out for me. I’ll tell her it’s a favor for a friend. I’ll call as soon as I have an answer.”

“Thanks Clay, I’ll owe you one.” Tony hung up and sank back into the chair, hoping for a quick nap before returning to his toddler whirlwind.


	4. Writing On The Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony returns to Paris, and discovers someone is watching them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Writing On The Wall by Bob Moses (Album Title Days Gone By)

Tony was out of the cab almost before it had stopped to let him out in front of the apartments. He practically threw the fare and a generous tip into the car for the driver, and had his go bag out of the trunk in record time. He was too impatient for the elevator, so he took the stairs two at a time to the fifth floor. He was short of breath by the fourth, and slowed for the final floor. He exited the door in a hurry, and suddenly found himself being shoved against the wall with a knife against his neck. He craned his neck trying to identify the threat, but was quickly released.

“Sorry Tony. I wasn’t expecting you to use the stairs.”

Liat stepped back and Tony barely saw the knife disappear.

Tony grinned, realizing he had probably barreled through the door, and managed a sheepish look as he thanked her for watching his family.

“Your father certainly seems to enjoy spoiling Tali. She deserves it. Neither of them noticed, but there was someone tailing them this morning. When I got close enough to confront them, someone had beaten me to it. Their neck was broken; looked like a professional job. You didn’t mention having friends in the city. Either that, or there are several people interested in your family.” Liat gave a concerned look then turned to resume her post. Tony entered the flat, lost in thought about the fact that someone was following his family, and was almost trampled by the little whirlwind that launched herself at him.

“Abba! Ima!”

Tony held tightly to her hug as Senior walked into the living room behind her.

“Welcome back son,” he hesitated to continue, “How was your trip?”

Before Tony could answer, his phone went off. His pulse quickened when he saw who it was: Abby. He ignored it and took a breath before turning back to his dad, while Tali was content to keep her arms around his neck (a feeling Tony would never grow tired of). As he began to try to word his findings to Senior, his phone went off again. He glanced down and read the text from Abby. He was mildly aware of his jaw dropping as his brain processed the words on the screen.

“ _Diamond sale spike in Paris. Ziva? Call me!!”_

“Um, Dad, I’ve got to make a call.” He barely registered his father’s reply as he slipped into the bedroom and locked the door.

Abby quickly picked up before the phone even rang twice.

_“Tony! Did you ask Reeves to track diamond sales for you? I asked why he wanted me to do it, and he said it was helping a friend. I didn’t think any further of it till I saw Berlin had spiked again right after Kort’s attack, and I remembered that’s how you tracked Bodnar. Now sales are spiking in Paris.”_

Tony sighed; he’d missed the barrage of words that often happened when one was talking to an excited Abby.

“Abby, listen to me; you can’t say anything to anyone. I just need to check something. Mossad was finally clearing the remains of the house, and they found a corpse, but it wasn’t Ziva. They presumed she had been killed by the mortar attack, and that’s why they never found her bones. They don’t think she was ever in Tali’s room after the attack, because there was no blood trail. But there were a few drops in the carpet that they missed. For some reason, she went into hiding, knowing that Orli would bring Tali to me in Washington. She pulled Tali out of the house, and left clues in her bag, it just took me awhile to realize it.”

_“Tony, you’ve got to find her! Why hasn’t she reached out? What if she’s in trouble?”_

Tony started. “Abby, I think Tali’s seen her. When we got off the plane here she kept pointing and calling for ‘Ima’. I just figured she saw someone that looked like Ziva. But what if she really did see Zi? But why would Ziva not just show up in my house herself?”

He heard Abby sigh. _“Because she loves you Tony, but she felt like she had to make up for her mistakes before she could return to you.”_

Tony tried not to let his frustration seep into the line.

“How would you know that Abs?”

_“Remember when I told you that she told me she loved you? Well that was after she’d left NCIS. In fact, it would’ve been after Tali was born. She said something about making this right for you. She told me she felt like something was coming, but swore me to never tell you.”_

“What did you say, Abby? Making something right for _me_?” Something clicked in his head.

“That was on her list she showed me. I figured it was something to honor Gibbs, but she never corrected me. Abby, I need you to send me the location where the diamond sales took place. Don’t tell anyone, but someone was following Dad and Tali while I was in Israel. Orli had sent Liat to watch them while I was gone, and she made someone following them. By the time she got there, someone had broken the guy’s neck. My guess, it was Ziva. She’s in Paris.” As he finished, and Abby promised to send the information before hanging up, he realized that Tali hadn’t just seen Ziva at the airport, when she hugged him not five minutes ago, she had shouted ‘Ima’. She had seen Ziva that morning. He threw the door open and quickly sat Tali on the couch while he sat on the coffee table.

“Tali, did you see Ima this morning?”

Senior had been watching from the entryway from the kitchen, and looked sharply at Tony when he asked Tali.

Tali quickly nodded her head. “Ima!”

Tony felt a sliver of hope in his gut, but he had to make sure.

“Tali, you saw her at the airport as well, right?”

Tali nodded eagerly at this. “Ima! Tali see Ima!”

Tony turned to Senior. “Go son,” Senior whispered, “I’ll watch her.”

Tony quickly hugged him, “Thanks dad.” Before racing towards the door.

Towards Ziva.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think so far! Feedback and comments are always appreciated!


	5. Pilgrim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets help from a friend, and puts two and two together before getting a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Pilgrim by Fink (Album Title Hard Believer)

Tony ran out into the Paris afternoon, finding that a small rain shower had started, but he didn’t care. He ran down the street for the garden that his dad had said they visited, desperate to find any clues or hints that Ziva had in fact been the one following them.

He had stopped in the hallway outside the flat, telling Liat she could leave, he knew who had killed the one watching them, and that it had certainly been a friend.

Liat had grinned, telling him that she had just received a call from Orli recalling her to Israel. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before promising she would be gone as soon as she packed her equipment.

He stopped when he arrived at the location Liat had said the person had been killed. There was no sign that anyone had discovered the body, but from the location, only spies and experienced investigators would even notice the hiding spot. There were no signs of a struggle, which meant that the watcher had been caught by surprise. Tony was surprised to see that the man’s pockets weren’t emptied, but when he pulled out the contents, he was confused. The man had no identification, just an empty holster, and a menu for a bistro.

Tony felt his shoulder’s slump. He had hoped for a more solid lead, but he decided he’d wait for Abby to get back to him with the address of the jeweler that sold the diamonds.

As he returned to the street to return to the apartment, he suddenly realized something. He ducked into an entryway and pulled the bistro menu out. He recognized the location in the picture. It was where he had met Ziva before picking up the witness they were escorting back to the states. He quickly called Abby.

_“Tony, I’m fast but I’m not that fast. I’ve barely started. I can’t work on this while anyone’s down here.”_

Tony tried to cut her off. “Abs, I just need to know if there’s a jeweler on or near Rue Saint Dominique.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. He could hear the clicking of her keyboard as she typed. _“There is. Tony, that’s the location where the sales jumped starting a month ago,”_

Tony thought back, that’s about when the plans to come to Paris started to come up. He realized that his laptop disproved Senior about who sent the original message.

“Abby, when I get on my laptop, I’m gonna forward you some emails. I need you to try to trace where they came from. It says from my dad, but I don’t think they did.” Abby agreed, and proceeded to hang up so Tony could focus on getting home.

The hallway was clear when he returned, confirming that Liat was in fact gone. He quickly called for Senior to meet him at the table, while Tali played with Kelev.

As he joined Tony he couldn’t keep the question on his lips. “What’s going on son?”

“Dad, I know you said I sent the message about meeting here, but right here on my email it shows that you sent it to me. I’m forwarding it to Abby, and she’s gonna find out for sure who sent them. I think I know where Ziva is though, so I’m not waiting. I have one more place to check, and then I’ll be back.”

He quickly sent the message to Abby, and then kissed Tali’s fore head before returning to the streets. He knew he should wait, but he had to find Ziva. He hailed a cab, and was out front of the café in less than 30 minutes. He scanned the people sitting both in and outside of the café, but didn’t see his Ziva. He sank into one of the empty tables, unsure of how long he should wait for her.

Suddenly someone sat down across from him. It was a stranger he had never seen before. He glared at Tony.

“Where is she?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not 100 percent sure, but I do believe that the cafe in Jet-lag is Le Recrutement Cafe on Rue Saint-Dominique, so if you know where it is or what it looks like, imagine that.  
> As always, thanks for reading, and please leave feedback, it is appreciated!


	6. Long Way Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds out who is hunting Ziva, and meets an old acquaintance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Long Way Down by Tom Odell (Album Title Long Way Down)

Tony froze at the strangers words. He wasn’t the only one that thought Ziva was still alive.

“I asked you where is she!” the man hissed at him. “You seem a little slow, so why don’t I let you know how this works. I have a gun in my hand, and if you don’t do exactly what I want, I shoot you. Now, come with me.”

The man stood up, holding his gun under his coat as to not alert the other patrons. He walked Tony out of the café and into a waiting van, where there was someone waiting for them. The man shoved Tony into the seat in the rear before joining him, and the van sped off into the Paris afternoon.

Tony felt his stomach dropping. He didn’t know where Ziva was, and had no way of finding out until Abby got back to him. They had left the tourist part of Paris behind, and were approaching the docks when suddenly one of the tires popped. The van rumbled to a stop and the driver went to investigate the damage while the man next to Tony adjusted his grip on his gun and pointed it at Tony.

“Any funny business,” he warned, “and your daughter grows up without either parent.” He got out with Tony, and approached the driver.

“How bad is the damage?” he asked.

The driver shrugged. “Looks like it hit a nail and punctured the tire. We’ll be walking the rest of the way.”

The two both grabbed Tony’s arms and began to resume their trip. A couple suddenly came around the corner, laughing and seemingly oblivious to what was happening in front of them. Tony tried to get their attention surreptitiously, but they were consumed with each other, barely noticing as the three men went around them.

The men led Tony to one of the more rundown boat houses, and strapped him to a chair inside. The driver quickly grabbed some equipment out of the box on the table and began to prepare what looked like a syringe.

The man that had sat down next to him grinned.

“Have you ever been under the influence of a truth serum, Agent DiNozzo? You can resist all you want, but it just makes it more effective. I got this particular blend from an old friend of yours. I believe you are familiar with a man by the name of Saleem Ulman?”

Tony felt his chest freeze when the man said Saleem’s name. Years later, and that monster’s name was still alive.

“This is his special blend he shared with me when I was working with him in Somalia. He was buying some military grade ammunition from me. One of my best clients before you and your fellow agents slaughtered him like a dog. Now it’s only fair that I hunt down and kill the two people most responsible for the deaths of him and Kort. My two mentors. Kort let me join his network 3 years ago, and I’ve been slowly working to find out who was directly responsible for Saleem’s death. Now I know. I’ll kill you, and then I’ll hunt down and kill your lover for bringing about his death. But first, I need some information from you.”

As he finished speaking he approached Tony with the syringe now filled with the awful drug. Right as he was about to stick it in Tony’s neck, the room was rocked by an explosion and two figures barreled through the hole where the door had been. The driver was quickly shot dead between the eyes, while the driver had begun to run the moment the door was blown down managed to almost make it to the boat waiting in the water when a bullet hit him from behind. The two figures approached Tony, and he was stunned to realize they were the couple that had passed the trio on the way to the boat house.

Tony felt the floor come out from under him as the man removed his balaclava. He recognized the man, it was Officer Adam Eshel from the Shin Bet, and the woman was still behind him. Adam smirked at him before moving behind him to free Tony from his restraints. Tony was sure his heart stopped. The woman slowly removed her own balaclava, but Tony knew those eyes anywhere. He had dreamt of them for years. Before the woman even had her mask off he was out of the chair and had embraced her head, giving her a kiss more passionate than when he left her in Israel.

He had finally found her. He was finally with Ziva. He was still lost in her embrace when he heard a gunshot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I'm sorry! Another cliffhanger! I hope you are all enjoying this little fanfic. I know I have enjoyed writing it! Please leave feedback in the comments, I greatly appreciate it!


	7. Heal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Ziva reunite in the face of danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Heal by Tom Odell (Album Title Long Way Down)

Time stood still for Tony as he registered the gunshot. He turned as several more shots sounded right in front of them. He was vaguely aware of the man that had taken him falling to the ground with two new bullet wounds in his chest.

Ziva had rushed to the side of Adam, now collapsed at their feet, with a shoulder wound where he had leapt in front of the man trying to shoot at Tony or Ziva. Tony quickly removed his jacket, attempting to use it to staunch the blood flow, and doing his best to stabilize the wound, while Ziva appeared to be talking into a sat phone. Adam caught Tony’s attention while Ziva was distracted.

“She wanted to go to you immediately, but she knew that if she did, it would only place you in danger. We both faked our deaths, and decided to weed out Kort’s ‘friends’ by ourselves. We knew the last two were here in Paris, so she began to plan our reunion.”

He took a breath before continuing. “She saw you at the airport, but when Tali almost recognized her, she decided to wait. After you left, she was going to try to see Tali again, but Liat was watching, as well as one of Kort’s men. Ziva and I quickly disabled him, and managed to avoid detection by Liat. She was going to meet you at the café when the man sat down next to you. We had tracked their warehouse, and I told her that I was going to inform Mossad and Shin Bet of our survival, as she still had a contact number for Orli. She called me and told me that they had taken you, so I set up a few blocks away with my tranquillizer rifle and shot a hole in the tire. Ziva had managed to beat you back here to try to get you out, but the men were paying too much attention. She managed to slip a small bug in the pocket of his suit, and we listened outside the door while setting up the charges to blow the door.”

Ziva had finished her conversation and quickly rejoined them. Tony had to remember to hold the jacket to Adam’s shoulder, as all he wanted to do was get lost in Ziva’s eyes. She seemed to be trying to avoid looking directly at Tony outside of glancing at him. Tony could tell, thanks to Adam’s story, that she was nervous about him being angry at her. She spoke up, seeming to want to keep focused on anything but Tony.

“Orli seemed only slightly surprised to hear we are still alive, but not displeased. She is alerting the Paris team to get us to a Mossad safe house to have him stitched up.”

Adam interjected. “Ziva, as soon as the crew gets here, go home to your daughter. That was the whole reason we did this. You are all safe. It is time for you to finally be a family.”

Ziva seemed to hesitate, so Tony nodded before catching her hand and giving it a squeeze. “Tali misses you almost as much as her daddy does. They just want you to come home.”

Ziva was slow to respond. “I have missed both of you. It was extremely hard for me to be apart from Tali. I should have told you as soon as I discovered I was pregnant. I’m sorry Tony.” As she spoke, she took Tony’s head in her hands and leaned so their foreheads were touching. They slowly kissed for what seemed to last for an hour until they heard the roar of a speedboat outside the boat house. Someone began to shout in Hebrew, and Adam looked relieved. Ziva quickly raised the door to the dock, and a boat entered and began to disgorge several heavily armed Israelis. They quickly stabilized Adam and began to set several explosives around the building to demolish it. They were all in the boat and safely away in less than 4 minutes. One of them was rapidly conversing with Ziva in Hebrew, when Tony jumped out of his skin as the boat house exploded. They docked in another boat house (it was practically a warehouse) five miles down the Seine.

Adam was quickly taken into what seemed to be a mobile operating room, while Tony and Ziva gave him their thanks once more. He nodded, before shooing them away to return to their daughter as a family. Tony went to shake his hand, when Adam spoke.

“Take care of her Tony, she’s been through so much, but she finally realizes how much she needs you in her life.”

Tony flashed his signature grin. “Oh trust me; I’m not easy to get rid of. Thank you for watching her back for me Adam.” Tony left him there and walked out of the warehouse to join Ziva in the car waiting to take them home to Tali.

They spent the entire ride to Senior’s apartment just getting lost in each other’s eyes. Tony kept her hands ensconced in his, needing the comfort of knowing she was still alive. They nodded to the driver as they exited the car. As they approached the door, Tony paused and turned to Ziva.

“How do you want to do this? Do you want to go in first, or should we break it to her and my dad together?”

“Together. I am eager to see both of them again.” She grinned.

Tony gave her a quick kiss before opening the door. He called for his dad, who responded from the living room. Tony went first, to see if Tali was with him, while Ziva stayed hidden around the corner.

Senior was sitting alone, reading from some newspaper. He sat up when Tony came into view.

“Junior,” He exclaimed, “What happened to you?”

“I’m fine dad. Can you get Tali and bring her in here. There’s something that I need to tell her.”

Senior’s face fell, immediately coming to the wrong conclusion. He slowly got up and went to the nursery to get Tali. Ziva took that moment to enter the room and take a perch on the couch next to Tony. After several minutes Senior returned, his attention of Tali as she was seemingly trying to show him something on Kelev. Tali happened to look over and she broke free of Senior’s hand as she saw Ziva.

“Ima!” she screamed as she ran straight into her mother’s arms for the first time in 7 months. Senior looked like he’d been frozen to the spot. His face went pale and his mouth dropped.

“Ziva,” He whispered, “you’re alive.”

She could only nod at him as tears flowed freely down her face as she hugged her little girl. Senior finally broke out of his trance and helped her up, before pulling Tony and her into a giant hug.

“Now we can be a proper family.” He said.

Tony just grinned. He had his dad, his little girl, and most importantly, his Ziva.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to all of you who have followed along on this fun journey. I am nearing the endgame, and I plan on around 2 more chapters until this little story is concluded. As always, comments and feedback are greatly appreciated!


	8. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Ziva decide on their future, and get a surprise in DC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to Donald P. Bellisario and CBS.  
> Chapter Title Inspiration is the song Homecoming-Part 1 by Ray LaMontagne (Album Title Ouroboros)

Tony was glad to step off the airplane after the almost 9 hour flight from Paris to DC. Albeit, there wasn’t a mid-flight murder on this one, just a trip with a toddler that was happy to have both her parents back.

They had put this off for several weeks. Tony and Ziva had been forced to facetime Abby to keep her from spilling the news to everyone. She had been able to keep their secret, not telling anyone about the favor she had done for Tony. Ziva had wanted to spend a month in Paris just settling in as a family, and Senior was happy to host them, as he had always thought Ziva was the perfect woman for his son, and it gave him an excuse to dote on his son’s family.

When they finally sat down to talk about the future, Tony had been fully prepared to move to Israel with her and Tali if she still felt like she needed to atone for her supposed transgressions. She was torn, but finally decided that her future was indeed in America, with her family. All that was left for her in Israel were memories and reminders of her darkest days.

She remained adamant that she was done as an agent at NCIS, but could see if there was any self-defense training at NCIS for new agents that she could help with. Tony had set up a meeting to Vance about seeing if there were any training positions open in DC that he could apply for, hopefully even with NCIS.

They still had to figure out where they would live, but Senior had called in a favor to an old friend and got them a decent rate to live in one of the suites at the Adam’s House where he frequented. They would have to begin searching for a house soon, as they didn’t want to overstay their welcome.

Tony was carrying Tali towards the baggage claim area when he felt Ziva stiffen next to him. He followed her line of sight and immediately wished he could disappear in a puff of smoke.

Gibbs was standing near the carousel, clearly waiting for them, as he had several of their suitcases at his feet.

They slowly moved towards him, both nervous about his reception, for different reasons. Ziva paused in front of him, and kept her face down, her hair spilling over her shoulder as if a shield from his gaze. But Gibbs was not one to scold too harshly this time, he was just happy to see she was still alive. He softly embraced her, pulling her close for a hug.

“Welcome home Ziva.” He whispered in her ear, without even a hint of censure. She was distinctly aware of the tear sliding down her face, something she had started doing more once Tali was born. Gibbs had turned towards Tony, who was visibly bracing for what would be the mother of all head slaps, but none came. Instead, Gibbs pulled him into another embrace. Ziva could barely make out what Gibbs was whispering to him.

“You brought her home again DiNozzo, good job.”

Tony grinned at the statement, before puzzlement came over him.

“Uh, boss, how did you know we were even coming in? How did you even know I’d found her?

Gibbs got a small smirk on his face. “Vance mentioned you wanted to meet with him about a training position, and with it not even being a year since you left I figured that meant you’d found her. Pulled some strings with a friend in the TSA and he confirmed the flights booked for three under the name DiNozzo; and since they were in coach and not first class, I figured a husband and wife and a toddler. Figured I’d pick you up, and let you crash at my house until you can find a more permanent spot.”

They made their way through the airport, and were at Gibbs’ car now. As they got in, Gibbs made one more comment.

“How are you going to let the team know?”

Ziva and Tony just looked at each other as they drove off. They hadn’t really settled on a way to reveal her survival to the team.

Tony cleared his throat. “Uh, we hadn’t really decided yet. Thought about having Abby get the squad to go to a dinner somewhere, and we’d meet them there.”

Gibbs nodded. “We were going to meet at Ducky’s for a celebration of McGee’s engagement with Delilah tomorrow. Sure they wouldn’t mind you crashing it.”

Ziva hesitated. “Gibbs, I don’t want to steal their lightening.”

Gibbs grinned while Tony gave a contented sigh. “Babe, I never thought I’d get to correct your Ziva-ism’s again. It’s ‘steal their thunder’.” Ziva didn’t even notice his quip, as she saw just how much she had hurt the team when Gibbs’ grin stayed on his face the entire ride home. She was worried about how the team would react to her showing up out of the blue after faking her death.

By this time, they had arrived at Gibbs’ house. He led them inside, telling DiNozzo he could put Tali up in Kelly’s room. Tony nodded and took Tali with him, sensing Gibbs wanted the chance to talk with Ziva. Gibbs walked into the basement, signaling for Ziva to follow him. She stood right at the bottom of the stairs, an ominous feeling reminding her of their conversation in this very room after they rescued her from Somalia.

“Do you not want to see your family again?”

Ziva tore her gaze from the floor to look at him in shock.

“Gibbs, my family is dea-.”

“I’m not talking about Ari or Eli. I’m talking about your family here. Do you know how Tony reacted after the shelling? He confronted me in the bullpen. Wanted to know why there didn’t seem to be anyone working. When I pushed him he lashed out, started shouting. He was distraught. He called you a daughter to me, a sister to McGee and Abby. Tried to act like you were just coworkers, even though we all knew better. When Senior tried to calm him down, told him he needed to breathe. Do you know what Tony said? He said he would breathe when Trent Kort was dead.”

Gibbs paused for a moment before continuing. “They all mourned for you. But not as coworkers; as family. We are your family Ziva. I’ve thought of you as a daughter to me for years, and Tony as a son. Now you’ve given me a granddaughter and a second chance at family that I never thought I’d get. Family forgives. There won’t be a single person there that is mad at you. They may ask questions, but you won’t be excluded. We’re a family.”

Ziva marveled at his speech, as she believed that was the longest speech she had ever heard from him. She barely felt the presence at the top of the stairs descend to stand behind her.

“He’s right Zi. I was a mess. I told you it was bad, but I didn’t tell you about that night.” He took her face in his hands, gently kissing her. Ziva was content. She had the three people who meant the most to her in this world all under the same roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew!! That was a long time coming! It has been way too long since I updated this! Thanks for sticking with me as I worked out some plot kinks! I hope you enjoy, and as always: Keep Calm and Love TIva!


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